Scan Current Efforts and Policies

Scanning activities provide essential context, such as state and local policies and available resources. A great place to start is with the SIECUS State Profiles. A key part of this phase is identifying school districts, or individual schools, who want to implement sex education or improve existing programs but need some guidance and resources in order to do so effectively. This phase helps answer the questions: “What policies, partners, and resources can support this work?” and “Which districts show promise for sex education readiness?”

Resources

State Profiles

SIECUS State Profiles is a state-by-state resource that describes sexuality education and abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in each state. Each state profile includes a summary of state laws and policies related to sexuality education.

State Policies in Brief, Sex and HIV Education

The Guttmacher Institute’s State Policies in Brief provide state-by-state information on key issues affecting sexual and reproductive health and rights. The publications are updated monthly to reflect the most recent legislative, administrative, and judicial actions.

State Education Data Profiles

This database provides access to statewide information on education system characteristics (e.g., number of students, schools, teachers), finances, assessments and selected demographics. Cross-state comparison tools are also available.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

The YRBSS monitors six priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults including sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and STDs/HIV, alcohol and other drug use as well as violence. Annual and trend data is available.

Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH)

DASH supports 19 state and 17 local education agencies to support schools and school districts in implementing exemplary sexual health education, increase adolescent access to sexual health services and establish safe and supportive environments for students and staff.